Category Archives: 20 Most Recent Articles

So, in Baton Rouge’s largest subdivision, Shenandoah Estates, how much is a swimming pool worth? Or, how much extra value does a pool add? My late and long-time friend and REALTOR, Pat Guttery, said a pool is an investment in family fun, not necessarily an a monetary investment where homeowners should expect a decent return on cost because pools are not necessarily investments. Shenandoah Estates is so large with perhaps 2800 homes, Google Maps labels it a city or town and provides a large enough sample of sales to derive interesting data on home features. When describing “pool”, I’m talking Continue reading How much is a swimming pool worth in Baton Rouge Shenandoah Estates?→

Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Home Appraisal assignments for the week…you know that Beach Boys song “I get around, get around, I get around…”? Well, that’s the life of a Greater Baton Rouge Home Appraiser…we’re all over the place! In East Baton Rouge, home appraisal assignments in subdivisions Monticello, Round Oak, Broadmoor, Walden, Shady Hollow, Zachary’s new DSLD Cedar Bend subdivision. Within West Baton Rouge, The Gates At The Oaks, Sugar Mill Plantation and Sugar Hollow and taking comparable photos in Esperanza Estates. Within Ascension Parish, appraisals in The Fields Subdivision and the new DSLD Hidden Farms Subdivision off Jefferson Continue reading Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Home Appraisal assignments for the week of May 14 2017→

Explaining the confusion of who owns a Greater Baton Rouge home appraisal for a home mortgage. No, it’s not OK for you the buyer of a home to believe you can “shop” for a better home loan deal once you’ve applied for a mortgage with one lender and they’ve ordered their appraisal you’ve paid for… You can, just realize that lender’s appraisal is not “transferable” to another lender should you find a better lending deal, perhaps one with lower closing cost or a better rate. And, if you apply for a home loan with that second lender for the same Continue reading Who Owns The Baton Rouge Home Appraisal?→

These are the some of the Greater Baton Rouge Home Appraisal photos from the field I’ve taken and or from late 2016 – interesting things an Appraiser sees during a typical day in Greater Baton Rouge. It seems like everyday I’m out in the field, I realize just how far reaching those August 2016 Great Flood waters reached 5.5 months ago…and wreaked havoc on our residents homes on mental state. Some of the work I perform is for draw inspections where I have drive out to determine what percent of recovery construction has been completed. Some people I find are Continue reading Baton Rouge Appraiser Photos From The Field – Walking Away and Rebuilding NICE→

I recently was sent a video of Ryan from TheREsource.tv regarding Failed Sales A Major Concern, link to his video is below. In the video, Ryan states 4.3 percent of contracts failed to close, which more than tripled from 2014. This is Ryan’s map showing where home sales fail to close at the highest pace. These are the cities showing where home sales fail to close at the highest pace. I don’t have any verifiable statistics on what percentage of Greater Baton Rouge home sales fail to close, nor such a source of information. Why The Increase In Failed Sales Continue reading Are Baton Rouge Failed Home Sales A Major Concern and Why They Occur→

How NOT to get maximum value for your Greater Baton Rouge home: Ignore conformity While my Appraiser Friend, Tom Horn SRA, writes this about the Alabama housing market, a Southern market, this is so very pertinent to our “Southern” Baton Rouge Louisiana housing market. I can give you example after example where “different”, “unique”, “modern” and “contemporary” have taken 3 to 4 times longer to sell and sold at drastic discounts because it was just odd and sometimes just downright “unattractive”. When I say “unattractive”, I ‘m not just referring to my personal preference, but rather buyers obvious negative reaction Continue reading How NOT to get maximum value for your Greater Baton Rouge home: Ignore conformity→

Baton Rouge Home Appraiser Bill Cobb reports on Parc Chaleur Subdivision in Baker Home Louisiana 70714 Did Parc Chaleur Subdivision flood in August 2016? If it did, I didn’t see any signs or evidence of flooding as of 11/12/2016. Baker Is A Weaker Housing Market Overall In general, the Baker housing market is still weak when other markets like Zachary, Baton Rouge, Central and Ascension Parish are very strong. For example, of the 269 sales since January 1, 2015, 78 of them or 29% were distressed sales (foreclosure, short sale or 3rd party). Other markets have far, far less distressed Continue reading Parc Chaleur in Baker Home Sales 2016 by Baton Rouge Home Appraiser Bill Cobb→

The home sales trends within Sherwood Forest Subdivision in Baton Rouge La are listed below as a result of research for a 2016 home appraisal. Jan 2016 to Oct 2016 Sherwood Forest Home Sales Trends 103 Sales from $75,000 to $265,000 Median Sales Price $149,000 Median Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $72/sf Average Sold Price: $147,873 Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $67/sf Homes Sold From $29/sf to $98/sf Average SP/LP% 96% Average Days On Market: 57 Days Average Home Is 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2,259sf The “Average SP/LP% 96%” or Listing To Sales Price Ratio means the average Continue reading Baton Rouge Appraiser: Sherwood Forest Suffers Major Price Declines in 2016→

When preparing for your Greater Baton Rouge Home Appraisal, I invite you to read Real Estate Broker, Jon Kolsky’s advice here: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4918769/prepare-for-your-home-appraisal– (image source is Jon Kolsky’s article) Yes, this is a content curation piece where I take an article written by another expert and add my commentary to bring it home to local Baton Rougeons. Let me add my advice after 20+ years appraising homes for purchases. Yes, homes in pristine, especially updated or renovated condition, sell and appraise to Top Dollar given favorable market conditions! Yes, I have my office ask the Listing Agent what comps were used Continue reading Why Do Baton Rouge Homes Not Appraise For Sales Price?→